I know nothing of the Remedia formula situation other than what I have
read on Lactnet itself. But I have done more than a little reading on
thiamin. This sentence caught my eye:

<of not
having sufficient vitamins - especially Vitamin B1 - to nourish certain
genetically-disposed babies who relied exclusively on the formula. >

There are five enzyme systems in the body that absolutely require thiamin
as a catalyst for their process to go through to completion. Some of them
take place in the brain, and lasting damage can result from lack of
sufficient thiamin. I think one of them is detectable in blood cells by
doing what is called an erytrocyte tranketolase test. Thiamin is water
soluble, and the body cannot build up any significant store of it from
day to day. Any excess simply passes out through the urine.

The genetic component was discovered to be an inborn error of metabolism
as a result of research that was seeking to determine if the conditions
known as Wernicke's encephalopathy and Wernick-Korsakov syndrome (a long
term effect) were due to alcohol. The population in which these
conditions have shown up for centuries have been the severe alcoholics.
But it is because their diet was the most likely to be severely
deficient, and not all severe alcoholics develop the conditions.

20+ years ago the FDA passed a ruling that all IV solutions containing
glucose was supposed to be supplemented with a preparation containing
thiamin. Signs of Wernicke's encephalopathy were showing up in some
people being treated for hyperemesis of pregnancy, kidney dialysis, GI
cancer where all nourishment was being given intravenously, etc.

I felt compelled to learn about all this when my then 28 year old healthy
daughter turned out to be one who apparently has this inborn error of
metabolism, and I finally found a way to persuade her doctors to add
thiamin to her IV's. She awoke from her month long coma within 12 hours,
which is said to be diagnostic. Fortunately, she was restored to health
and has been living a full life since. I have plenty of references for
anyone who might be interested.

K. Jean Cotterman RNC, IBCLC
Dayton, OH, USA

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